Ten Tipsy, Tasty & Fun Things to do in kraków
Visit a secret cocktail bar in the cellars of the Jewish District
Walking down an alleyway in the center of the Jewish District Kazimierz, you might stumble upon some strange rabbits pawprints on the pavement. Follow the prints, ring the bell and fall down the rabbit hole into one of Kraków’s best speakeasy style cocktail bars.
William Rabbit & Co Website
Enjoy a Mountain Style Feast with Traditional Polish Folk Music
Some of our favourite traditional Polish food comes from the hearty Polish Highlander or ‘Goral’ cuisine of the nearby Tatra mountains and to try it we’d very much recommend checking out Morskie Oko restaurant in the Old Town.
It’s a beautiful wood and brick building, they serve huge portions of delicious food and there’s live folk music downstairs in the evenings. It all combines for a great foody experience. It’s not cheap but it’s not expensive either, it’s great value.
Morskie Oko Restaurant Website
Sample Poland’s National Spirit on the Kraków Vodka Tour
A little bit of shameless self promotion! If you’re on the lookout for something special or unique to Kraków and Poland then Polish vodka and Kraków vodka bars/cafes are an absolute must try.
It’s very unique, it’s very tipsy, it’s very tasty as it’s very fun. It’s genuinely surprising how good Polish vodka can be compared to what is available in the likes of the UK and Ireland and the history of it all is fascinating.
Our Kraków Vodka Tour & Tasting Experience is rated 5 star on every single review platform we could find and it’s rated #1 on TripAdvisor for both the Food & Drink and Nightlife categories. You can check out a really great video review above.
Or find out more at the Vodka Tour website
The Krawl Through Kraków Pub Crawl
An experience for the young and wild at heart. Party the night away in hidden basement bars with people from all over the World. It might be a little (or a lot) more than tipsy but it’s bloody good fun!
Or visit their website here to find out more
Get a deal on a big stein and giant schnitzel
Poland’s Galician history means that, besides Poland’s own unique historical cuisine, Kraków also shares much of the best of Germanic drinking cuisine.
There’s plenty of awesome restraurants that serve schnitzel but keep an eye out of Pod Wawelem’s Monday special offer where you can pick up a giant snitzel with a side for 23pln (5€) and a litre beer for just 16pln (€3.50). They also have a similar offer on Tuesdays in their sister restaurant on the main square.
Pod Wawelem Website
Wash away the hangover with a dip at Zakrzówek
Obviously one for summer, Zakrzówek is one of the hidden beauty spots of Kraków. Crystal clear and deep water combines with limestone cliffs to give alluring turquoise, white and green colours that are usually only seen in the likes of Croatia.
The abandoned and flooded quarry has recently been renovated, with decking installed to make swimming and sunbathing easier. It’s just the perfect place to cool off in summer and enjoy a few hours relaxing.
A few words of warning. The cliffs are high and the water is deep so be careful. It can get busy on hot weekends or bank holidays.
(Image by Gabriela Fabia, CC BY 3.0)
Zakrzówek Google Maps Link
Prosecco Breakfast at Charlotte
One of Kraków’s best breakfast spots, Charlotte is famous for a few things. Very good croissants and pastries. Very good home made jams and milk/white chocolate spreads. Oh and a breakfast deal with champagne. Not a bad way to start off a bit of tipsy travel.
As a bonus they’ve recently just opened a second location in the Jewish District, so you should have one conveniently located if you’re staying anywhere near the center of town.
Charlotte Cafe Website
Chill out by the Wisła River
Both the Old Town and Jewish District can be quite busy at times. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from it all and find a spot for a quiet walk or to sit down and relax.
The main river area runs from the Castle walls and curls around Kazimierz before heading away from central Kraków. It’s a genuinely beautiful river to take a walk along, nicely set up with wide walking paths and with a number of boats moored up.
A couple of good places for food & drink along the river are Forum and Barka. Forum is an iconic abandoned Soviet hotel now thriving with multiple bars, food trucks and a street food hall. Barka is a stationary boat with great views, vibes, food and drinks. You can also however book river tours that go up past the Castle towards the Tyniec Monastry. If the sun is shining it’s a lovely trip.
See the sunset from a rooftop bar
Krakow’s architecture was fortunately relatively untouched by WW2 which makes for some gorgeous skylines, especially as Kraków is one of those cities that just looks fantastic in the golden hour and around sunset.
One of our favourite spots for a drink or dinner is the Sky Bar of the Rubenstein Hotel. You get a great view but with Klezmer music floating up from the restaurants nearby you are still within earshot of the hustle and bustle from the Jewish district below.
Hit up the communist vibes on a Crazy Guides Tour
Many people come to Kraków expecting the stereotype of Eastern Europe, cold and grey Soviet architecture, only to find themsevles enchanted by the UNESCO World Heritage Old Town and Bohemian Jewish District.
Kraków really does have everything though. The Soviets built a new model town, Nowa Huta, right next to Kraków to show the wonders of the Soviet ideas.
It’s a fascinating afternoon out and the best way to explore it is joining a Crazy Guides tour in an old Soviet built car.
When I did this tour the guide was brilliant and our Soviet car broke down and had to be fixed by the guide. I’m still to this day not sure if that was meant to happen or not. Either way it was a great day out and our whole group loved the experience.
Crazy Guides Website
Photo by Dugal Crichton
Take a trip out and enjoy a beer in some of Europe’s most beautiful mountains
The Tatras have to be some of the most under-rated mountains in Europe. If you’re in Kraków for more that a long weekend then a trip down to Zakopane can be a great idea.
There’s fantastic hiking and scenery, great apres-ski and lots of awesome mountain food. Even if you struggle to get around, you can take a Gondola to a 2000m mountain and enjoy a beer with an awesome view over both Poland and Slovakia. After a hard day skiing or hiking (or avoiding skiing or hiking) there’s some top notch thermal spas to relax in.
The bus from Kraków is around 6.50EUR and takes around 2.15h and goes very regularly. There’s also lots of transfer companies offering packages from Kraków.
